South Korea’s lodging and dining industry’s revenue plummeted to a 10-year low in the first quarter with a surge in loan requests, the central bank said Wednesday.  According to data from the Bank of Korea, the industrial production index for the hospitality sector stood at 85.6, down 15.5 percent from the same quarter last year, marking the steepest fall since 2010. The IPA -- which measures current economic conditions -- is calculated based on sales figures in each busine

Market July 22, 2020

Financial Services Commission Eun Sung-soo will attend a closed-door meeting of the heads of South Korea’s five biggest banking groups Friday to discuss whether to further ease loan repayment schedules for coronavirus-battered companies, industry sources said Sunday. It is unusual for the FSC chief to attend the meeting convened by the five chiefs, according to insiders. Through the meeting, the authorities are slated to seek a consensus on the details of a further extension of loan re

Market July 19, 2020

For Kim Su-yeon, a 40-year-old office worker, standing in line for a Louis Vuitton bag has become a way to beat the heat -- instead of traveling overseas for some relaxation and summer fun.  “All my travel plans came to naught due to the coronavirus spread, so I decided to pour my savings into Louis Vuitton bags,” said Kim, who joined the lines stretched along the street leading to the main branch of Shinsegae Department Store in Sogong-dong, central Seoul, Tuesday. Her ques

Market July 16, 2020

South Korea’s financial regulator on Thursday held a joint working group meeting to discuss measures to nurture financial services based on artificial intelligence technologies, in preparation for new waves of digital transformation in the sector.  Hosted by the Financial Services Commission, the meeting was attended by traditional local lenders, fintech firms and leading AI programming companies.  Its main agenda was to seek ways to improve the current regulations that hampe

Market July 16, 2020

Responding to growing trade and investment volume between South Korea and Africa, the state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea has signed a sublease contract worth $100 million with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank via a videoconference, officials said Wednesday.  Launched in 1985, the TDB, a multilateral, treaty-based development financial institution, is aimed at financing local businesses as well as trade activities in the African regions. It has 22 member coun

Market July 15, 2020

The South Korean real estate market ranked 30th in terms of transparency, a survey showed Wednesday. According to Jones Lang LaSalle Korea, the country climbed one notch in its Global Real Estate Transparency Index, a benchmark of real estate market transparency that covers 99 countries. The index studies 210 indicators, including the level of sustainable management, resilience to economic crisis and technological advances of respective countries.  Officials of the global real estate se

Market July 15, 2020

South Korea’s “economic uncertainty” is precarious amid clear signs of a downturn triggered by the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Tuesday. The latest index of think tank Economic Policy Uncertainty indicates South Korea’s rate reached 428.82 in May, up sharply from 239.36 estimated in November 2019.  This marked the highest level since August last year, when the figure surged to 538.18 as tensions between the US and China escalated over trade issues. The index

Economy July 14, 2020

The financial watchdog said Monday it has issued a disciplinary warning to three lenders -- Shinhan, Hana and Industrial Bank of Korea -- for their slack management in project financing. Project financing refers to a long-term loans issued by savings banks and other lending institutions as well as a number of equity investors, which is aimed at supporting infrastructure projects.  The Financial Supervisory Service slapped disciplinary measures against the lenders as they reportedly subt

Market July 13, 2020

The government on Friday unveiled a set of new real estate regulations centered on raising taxes on owners of multiple homes, as part of a move to rein in soaring housing prices.  According to the latest version, marking the 22nd of its kind since the Moon Jae-in administration took office in May 2017, those who either own three houses or more and homeowners with two houses located in some speculative areas, including Seoul and surrounding cities, will face a comprehensive real estate t

Economy July 10, 2020

The South Korean government vowed to speed up measures to stem the rampant practices of illegal private lending Thursday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun visited a counseling center within the market watchdog Financial Supervisory Service that addresses consumer damages caused by illicit private lending, which normally target low-income families with high interest rates and related frauds.  He was accompanied by FSS Gov. Yoon Suk-heun, Financial Services Commission Vice Chairman Sohn Byun

Market July 9, 2020

Stricter jeonse loan regulations will be imposed starting from Friday, the nation’s financial regulator said Wednesday, adding more pressure on the real estate market as it already faces a series of measures set to curb soaring housing prices. The latest version restricts jeonse loan guarantees and bans loan requests by buyers who already own a house in high speculation areas.  The move came in line with the 21st set of housing price regulations imposed under the Moon Jae-in admini

Market July 8, 2020

South Korea’s top financial regulator Tuesday vowed to induce fair competition between conventional financial companies and Big Tech groups, in preparation for the forthcoming digital shift in the local financial industry. “Responding to the non-face-to-face trend triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak, a growing number of major technology companies, or Big Tech, have been pursuing (new opportunities) from the financial services industry,” said Financial Services Commission Chair

Market July 7, 2020

The number of open banking service subscriptions in Korea has surpassed 20 million, more than 70 percent of the nation’s economically active population, reflecting rapid expansion across the finance sector, authorities said Monday. Launched in December 2019, open banking services enable bank customers to use banking services of different banks via a single smartphone application. Currently there are a total of 72 service providers, including commercial banks and financial technology comp

Market July 6, 2020

South Korea will execute its third supplementary budget of 35.1 trillion won ($29.3 billion) on Monday as part of a move to minimize the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said Sunday. The latest COVID-19 response budget, the single biggest spending in the country’s history, was approved by the National Assembly late Friday, surpassing the extra budget of 28.4 trillion won passed amid the 2009 global financial crisis.  Earlier i

Economy July 5, 2020

South Korea’s top fiscal policymaker on Thursday urged Japan to show sincere efforts to lift export curbs and resolve a yearlong trade dispute between the Asian neighbors. “(South Korea) calls on the Japanese government to make efforts with a sincere attitude to normalize its export regulations targeting the nation,” said Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki during an economy-related ministerial meeting held at Seoul Government Complex. “The Korean government has stepped up ef

Economy July 2, 2020